Governor praises ‘Cool Cities” at press convention
Saying there is much to be proud of as a resident Michigan, Gov. Jennifer Granholm told editors and publishers at the Michigan Press Association convention her focus remains set on jobs. Noting her disappointment in the loss of 2,700 jobs after a manufacturer declined a sweet offer from the state to stay in the southwestern Michigan city of Greenville, Granholm remained upbeat.
She said the Greenville experience might have changed her. Perceiving herself as a ?New Democrat? who favored free trade, she said the lesson learned when the state offered huge tax incentives for 20 years to Electrolux might stick with her. Electrolux declined the offer, and will leave the city, and 2,700 jobs behind. ?We have to level the playing field,? she said. ?We have to stand up for Michigan jobs and workers.? She told the MPA group the public needed ?more stories to make Michiganians feel good about their state.?
Repeating the theme of her recent state of the state address, the governor said it is difficult to compete for new manufacturing jobs when overseas countries pay their workers much less. ?We need to focus on jobs. The current hemorrhaging cannot continue,? she said.
THE ONLY LINE which drew applause from the MPA members came when the governor said importing Canadian garbage for deposit in Michigan landfills should cease. ?We need to prevent Canadian trash from coming across our border,? she said. The state?s hands are tied by the hitch which calls Canadian trash impor
The governor praised the work of the Cool Cities Initiative, which includes a group from Rogers City. The initiative to create ?cool cities? is important, the governor said, ?Because that?s were the next workforce wants to be.? She said 80 of 275 cities asked to participate responded by forming committees on ?cool.? The governor said she has led the effort to reduce state spending by cutting staffing to levels from the 1970s. ?Nobody can say we are still bloated and fat,? she said.
ON THE positive side, the governor pointed out three areas of interest for her administration. The first, education, is where the governor said the state has ?got to start to educate children from age zero. A health care initiative which she called a ?third-share program,? proposes a three-way sharing of employee health insurance costs between the employee, employer, and the state in a form of a tax break. The third area of concentration will be the environment, she said. With 20 percent of the world?s fresh water, Michigan needs to continue to be a good steward.